It's Basketball Tourney Time In The Lehigh Valley

Dave Johnson thought it would be a great experience for his high school basketball team to spend the weekend between Christmas and New Year's in "another part of the basketball world."

For Johnson's team, defending Rhode Island Class B state champ New Kingstown, that "another world" is the Lehigh Valley. More specifically, it's Wilson High School where his team is the headline attraction of the Warriors' annual Christmas Classic Friday and Saturday nights.

The Wilson event is just one of 29 tournaments slated for the week ahead -- 18 boys and 11 girls -- that figure to fill the void for any basketball fan who can't stand to take a break, even when the local leagues do.

Holiday tournament week is popular with coaches, players and fans alike because it gives them an opportunity to see opponents they don't normally get to see during the year. In the case of the Rhode Island team, fans not only are getting a chance to see a team that won't see this season, but also a team they may never see again.

"We noticed the opening for this tournament on a hotel bulletin board when we were in Pittsburgh for a coaches' clinic," Johnson said. "We actually expressed a desire to come into this tournament last year, but there wasn't an opening. This year, we received an invitation and we're real excited about it. We're looking to come in to play some competitive basketball and see how they do it in Pennsylvania."

New Kingstown will even get to experience what it's like to be an NBA team as they have their two-day appearance at Wilson scheduled around their own holiday tournament.

So, Johnson's team will play a game in Rhode Island Thursday night, fly into A-B-E Airport Friday morning, board several rented vans, go through a shootaround at the gym, attend luncheons, play two games, and then return home Sunday to finish their own tournament.

"We're giving our kids an idea of what it's like to play at the collegiate level," said Johnson, who was an assistant at several colleges, including Rhode Island and Brown. "It's not as glorified as people think it is."

Some might suggest that there can't be much glory either in being a state champion in a state that has just 44 schools. But the consistency of the New Kingstown program has to be respected regardless of the size of the Ocean State (roughly 1/37th as big as Pennsylvania in terms of square miles).

The school, which has an enrollment of about 1,200, won a previous state championship in 1985 and had been to the state semifinals several times before capping a 25-3 season last year with another state crown.

"I wouldn't call us a power," Johnson said. "We've had some good years. This year, we graduated eight players from last year's team. We've got 10 new players on the roster and I'd say we're young and inexperienced."

They were also 3-0 after their first three games when Johnson was contacted last week.

The team polished its skills when it conducted its own basketball camp last summer where it raised the $4,500 needed to make the trip to the Lehigh Valley

"The camp has been successful and we plan to make more trips like this if our summer camp can remain successful," Johnson said. "We look at this not only as a basketball experience, but as an educational experience as well. On our second day in the area, we'd like to go see something. I know that our kids and most of the parents have never been in the area before."

Northwestern gets to officially welcome New Kingstown to town in the opening game of the tournament Friday night. Wilson and Notre Dame of Green Pond meet in the nightcap with the winners set to battle for the tourney crown Saturday night.

Johnson's lineup features Mark Swistak, a 5-10 guard who is a Division I caliber tailback on the school's football team. Jim Brindle, a 6-3 forward, averages 18 points and 13 rebounds per game, while 5-10 Dan Jarrett is an accurate outside shooter.

"We just hope we can give the teams we're playing a good game," Johnson said.

Regardless of who comes away with the championship trophy, there figures to be plenty of winners in the two nights of the tourney. Proceeds from the event will again benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the Wilson Basketball Coaches Scholarship Fund.

"We really think we've got a real interesting tournament lined up and it's all for a good cause," said Wilson head coach Bob Frankenfield, who credits assistant coach Fran Flavelle for putting all the nuts and bolts of the event together. "We're giving scholarships to deserving student-athletes within our program and we're also trying to help out children far less fortunate than we are.

"I know when I see a smile on the face of Christopher Pittman (an MDA poster child) from something good we're doing, I know that there are much more important things in life than a basketball game. Seeing a kid like that smile is what it's really all about."